


as it was before

by carolinecrane



Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-29
Updated: 2010-09-29
Packaged: 2017-10-12 07:40:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/122523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Seamus, after the war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	as it was before

After, there's just them. There's the battle, of course, so there's only time for a long, hard hug and a brush of familiar fingers over the bruises on his face. He has time to notice how thin Dean is under his clothes, then they're rushing after Harry and the others to send You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters back where they came from.

Once Harry outwits You-Know-Who and lives up to the title of Boy Who Lived for the second time, there's celebrating for days. The whole wizarding world shouts the news from the rooftops; the sky's filled with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes fireworks for days, and you can't step out of the house without hearing the faint 'pop' of someone apparating or disapparating with more news of the victory.

It gets to be too much after a bit, even to those who haven't lost anyone, so Seamus doesn't hesitate when Dean asks him to come along back to his mum's. Just long enough to let them know he's safe, Dean promises, but Seamus doesn't care if they stay forever, as long as he never has to let Dean out of his sight again. Because they didn't lose anyone, but they could have, and Seamus knows he's going to have nightmares long after the bruises fade.

He knows he should go home; let his mam know he's alive and no worse for the wear. But he can't bring himself to leave Dean, even long enough to pop 'round for tea. So instead he sends an owl, and he tries to stay out of the way of Dean's family so they won't start hinting that maybe his own family must be worried by now.

Dean's mum is more understanding than he expected, though, and Seamus suspects that Dean tells her more than Seamus has ever told his own mam. It's not that he thinks she'd toss him out – probably not, anyway – but they don't talk about that sort of thing in his family. And his da…well, he usually goes along with whatever his mam says, but his da's always been a bit old-fashioned, and this might be the one area where he'll finally put his foot down.

Seamus knows he'll have to find out sometime, but for now he's trying not to think about it. Now there's just him and Dean, huddled together in Dean's narrow bed, legs tangled together and Dean's skin warm against him. Seamus traces a fingertip along Dean's collarbone where it juts out more than it used to, thinks about suggesting they go and find some food for the comfort of watching Dean eat.

"I tried to come after you," he says, hand flat against Dean's chest now and he watches the progress of his fingers along dark skin. "Tried to run away after Christmas hols, but me mam caught me and made me go back."

Fingers card through his hair and he closes his eyes, focuses on the feel of Dean's fingers and the way his chest rises and falls when he speaks. "How could she send you back there? She had to know what they were doing."

"No choice," Seamus answers, as though he hasn't asked himself the same question a hundred times. Every time he took one of Goyle's curses, or spent an endless detention being Crucio'd by one of their 'professors'. "They would've arrested me mam, probably killed me da. The way Muggles were being rounded up, it's a wonder they didn't do it anyway. But I wanted to come after you."

"I thought about trying to sneak back into Hogwarts. Just to see you, you know? I knew it was the worst thing I could do, but sometimes it felt like it would be worth it. Blimey, Seamus, the things they did to you…"

"Could've been worse," Seamus says, but he doesn't elaborate. Doesn't have to, because they both know exactly how much worse it could have been. Saw it with their own eyes in the Great Hall after the war was over, and Seamus knows Dean saw even more than that while he was on the run. He still wishes he'd been there, because at least then they would have had each other. And that was the worst part of this whole miserable year, the being apart.

Dean's fingers tighten in his hair and Seamus tilts his chin to look at him, breath catching in his throat when he sees Dean's expression. Then Dean leans down and kisses him, presses him backwards onto the pillow and pins him there while he kisses Seamus like he's trying to memorize him. There's no need for that; never will be again, thanks to Harry, but Seamus lets Dean kiss him anyway. Because he gets it, still wakes up in a panic most nights and only manages to calm himself when Dean's arms wrap around him and he murmurs sleepy reassurances in Seamus' ear. They never talk about it after, but it makes the nightmares a little easier, knowing Dean understands.

Dean's marking a trail of hot kisses down his neck when his mum hollers up the stairs, something about breakfast that Seamus doesn't quite catch. Hurried footsteps in the hallway tell him Dean's sisters are going to beat them to it, and he reluctantly puts his hands on Dean's chest and pushes him back just enough to get his attention.

"Your mam's calling."

"She'll wait," Dean answers distractedly, his hand pushing between them and Seamus gasps and twists as far away as he can while Dean's chest is pinning him to the bed.

"You need to eat."

Dean rolls his eyes at that, but Seamus knows he doesn't really mind. He's been shoveling in the food like it's the Halloween Feast at every meal, after all, and it's only just starting to show. Still, Seamus isn't going to let up until Dean makes him, and if that means leaving the warmth of Dean's bed long enough to get some eggs and toast into him, it's a sacrifice Seamus is willing to make. Besides, they have the rest of their lives to make up for it, and Seamus hasn't got any other plans.


End file.
